This Saturday, August 6, the Ulster County town of Saugerties is celebrating the 200th anniversary of its incorporation. And what better way to show your Saugerties pride than donning a pair of pajamas and helping four of your best friends race a bed down Partition Street?
Seriously, folks, it's a Thing. And from the sound of it, bed racing requires some impressive feats of athleticism. From the official rules on iheartsaugerties.com:
The beds will leave the starting line with 4 pushers and one rider in the bed. Half way through the block, the beds must come to a complete stop in the designated area, and successfully complete a “Chinese Fire Drill” then must proceed to the half-way point of the race. Once the bed is at the end of the block and at a complete stop, the rider must exit the bed and remove his/ her pajamas and then hand them to one of the pushers. That pusher must completely and correctly put on the pajamas while the team is positioning to run back toward the finish line (which was the starting line). The team may turn the bed 180 degrees during the pajama change or just “about face” and push the bed backwards back to the finishing line once the dressed rider is completely and safely back on the bed. When at the half way point in the block, another “Chinese Fire Drill” must be successfully executed before continuing on to the finish line.
Ashley Drewes, proprietor of the Sugartown Vintage clothing store in Saugerties, writes that she's happy to help equip participants with retro pajamas.
Old Timer's Day is about more than just bed racing, though we're pretty sure that's the main attraction. There will be musicians (including Linda Russell, the Bluestone Trio with Bob Bottjer, the Saugerties Community Band, Veterans in the New Field, and the Kingston Sea Chantey Singers), and an evening square dance at HITS with Earl Pardini and the Slide Mountain String Band. And if you just can't wait til Saturday to party in your pajamas, head over to the pre-fest pajama party at the Dutch Ale House on Friday evening.
